Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm just curious Ash, do you own a Bible today? I own three variations and I think most of us here have at least one. It's actually not a bad read if you have nothing better to do, so long as you don't allow yourself to fall down the rabbit hole that is belief in the impossible.
As for me, I didn't become a skeptic until I read the Bible, I mean REALLY read it and get into a thorough study of it's contents.
Nope, I have never owned one.
Did give reading one a try when I was in the Navy (out of sheer boredom of being at sea for months at at time) but the poorly written, disconnected, absurd and conflicting story line, leaving me either stunned that people believed this nonsense, or disgusted with the irrational hate and actions sanctioned by the lead character, I didn't have the stomach for it.
I read a good bit, some history, a lot of fiction, and if the book is poorly written or the storyline doesn't catch my interest I simply put it down.
Can one, if they really want to, WILL themselves to believe?
Maybe some people can but I know I sure can not and I can only speak for myself.
If there is no reason to think something is true, I can not flick a switch and think it is true anyway.
At this time, having been asking for over 17 years, I am entirely unaware of even a small piece of evidence, argument, data or reasoning to suggest there is a god. Therefore I have no basis on which to believe it. Nor can I just choose to start believing it for the sake of it. I am aware that there simply is no reason to think the claim true. At all.
So if people are capable of flicking such a switch and thinking things are true despite having no reason to think they are true... I am impressed. Though I have no idea why one would want to do so and divorce ones beliefs from reality in that fashion.
You assume automatically that belief is a "choice". Clearly others do not.
That's the topic here, in case it wasn't obvious....IS belief a willful choice or not?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
